Lamp base assembly



Nev. 30, 1948. w. MAS' I'ERSON 2,455,131

LAMP BASE ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 19, 1946 INIIIIIIIIIIII} 7 Patented Nov.30, 1948 2,455,131 LAMP BASE ASSEMBLY William F. Masterson, Decatur,llll., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Faries Manufacturing Company,Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 19, 1946,Serial No. 642,203

This invention rel-ates to a base construction for lamps or similararticles, and particularly to a base construction which may be formed inits entirety from stamped components.

The lamp base constructions heretofore commonly utilized generallycomprised a heavy casting of non-ferrous or cast iron composition whichwas not only expensive to manufacture but in addition was undesirablefrom the standpoint of its weight versus stability characteristics. Itis deemed obvious that in any base construction for an article such as alamp wherein the vertical height of the article supported by the base ismany times greater than the diameter of the base, greatest stability ofthe supported structure will be provided by a base having its diameteras large as possible. When forming the base from a casting, it isneither economically or structurally feasible to provide a largediameter base. Low quality metal castings by nature are quite frangibleand this condition is particularly true when the casting'has only a thinwallsection. To provide a suitable large diameter base for a lamp byutilizing a casting having sufiicient wall thickness to insure itsserviceability, would result in a total weight for such base far inexcess of that desirable for convenient portability of such lamp.

It is a feature of this invention that a lamp base construction isprovided wherein the major components of the base are formed fromstampings of metal of relatively thin cross-section. Such metalstampings, however, when formed from low alloy steels have greatlyimproved frangibility properties over the castings heretofore used forlamp bases and accordingly a larger diameter base structure may beeconomically provided, yielding improved stability and yet weighing lessthan the conventional cast base structure.

A further feature of this invention is the provision of a, baseconstruction formed by assembling cooperating stamped thin-walled metalcomponents and characterized by an extremely simple, yet durablefastening arrangement which secures the components of the assembled basein rigid relationship, yielding a light-weight, yet rugged baseconstruction.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedmulti-piece base for floor lamps or the like characterized by thesimplicity of its components, ease of manufacture and assembly, andruggedness of the assembled units.

7 A further object of this invention is to provide an-improved lamp baseconstruction having a 4 Claims. (Cl. 248-494) 2 large diameter forstability of support yet being light in weight and economical tomanufacture.

, A particular object of this invention is to provide an improved builtup lamp base construction wherein all components are manufacturableeither bystamping or by automatic machinery, thus providing a lamp baseparticularly susceptible to manufacture in large quantities.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved lamp basecharacterized by the absence of rough edges or limited area channelsthrough which the necessary wiring must be drawn, thus expeditingassembly of the complete lamp and improving the safety characteristicsof the lamp.

A specific object of this invention is to provide an improved lamp baseconstruction wherein a pair of complementary, centrally apertured basemembers are rigidly secured together by a nut threaded on a support postwhich extends through the central apertures, wherein one of the basemembers is flexed during the assembly operation, thereby automaticallytaking up looseness developed by wear and locking the assembly nut inposition.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theannexed sheet of drawings, which disclose a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of an assembledbase unit for a lamp constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged scale, partial sectional view taken along theplane II-II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the upperbase member of the base construction of Figure 1; v

Figure 4 is a partial top elevational view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the lowerbase member of the lamp base construction of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a partial top elevational view of Figure 5.

As shown on the drawings:

The lamp base 2 shown on the drawings is conveniently and economicallyformed by the assembly of cooperating lower and upperbase members l and6 respectively. Lower base member 4 com- 1 prises a thin-walled circularmember of a generally shallow cup-shaped configuration having ahorizontal base portionB, an upturned or upstanding-flange-or wallportion l0 and an upupper and lower base members.

. the support tabs I4.

wardly bowed central portion 12. A plurality of integrally formed,depending tab portions M are provided in radially spaced relationshipabout the periphery of the horizontal portion 8 of lower base member 4.The bottom surfaces of such tab portions engage the floor or othersupporting surface upon which the lamp base may rest. It

should be noted that a substantial vertical space is inga baseportion l8and integrally formed, down- ,wardlyturned wall portion 20. The bottomend portion 22 ofthe wall portion is displaced radially outwardly aslight additional amount to define a downwardly facing annular internalshoulder 24., In assembly, the upstanding walls H] of the lower basemember 4 are snugly receivable within the wallportion 22 of the upperbase member 6 and the top surfaces of the upstanding walls 10 engage thedownwardly facing shoulder 24 (Fig.

3) of the upper base member.

The central portion 26 of upper base member 6 isbent upwardly to definea downwardly opening, ,cup shaped recess '28. An aperture 30 is providedin the center of upper base member 6 and aligns w th the aperture it inthe lower base member 4 when the two base members are assembled.

To assemble the upper and lower base members into a unitary structureand further to provide means for attaching the 7 structure, such as alamp, which the base is to support, a support post 32 is provided,comprising a hollow cylindrical member, the bottom end portion 34 ofwhich is snugly receivable in the aligned apertures I The cylindricalportion 34 of support post 32 is terminated at its upper end by aradially. projecting, integrally formed flange 35 which, in assembledposition, rests on the top surface of the central portion 26 of theupper base member 6. In this position of the support post 32, the bottomend of the cylindrical portion 34 projects through the aperture 6 inlower base member 4, but terminates above the horizontal plane of thebottom surfaces of v The projecting end of cylindrical portion 34 isprovided with threads 36 and an assembly nut 38 cooperates therewith torigidly secure the upper and lower base members to the support post.

To further increase therigidity of the assembly, a spacer member 40 maybe provided, comprising a thin walled, cup-shaped member having acentral aperture 42 through the base portion 44 thereof. The diameter ofbas portion 44 of spacer member 49 is selected so as to fit snuglywithin the cup-shaped recess 28 formed in the upper base member, and, ofcourse, the support post 32 projects through the aperture 42 in spacer40. Thus the spacer member 40 is supported in substantially concentricrelation to the support post 32.

The overall length of spacer member 40 may be proportioned to produce aflexing of the lower base member when assembled to the upper base=member, therebyproducing a more rigid assembase member to they 30 and[6 of the assembled.

bly, and providing an automatic take-up for looseness that wouldordinarily occur by wear and stretching of the metal parts after limitedservice. By proportioning the overall length of the spacer member 40 tobe less than the distance which would exist between the bottom surfaceof the recess 28 and the top surface of the upwardly bowed portion 12when the lower and upper base members are placed in unstressed assembledrelationship, then when the adjusting nut 38 is tightened suilicientlyto clamp the spacer member 49 between the upper and lower base members,a flexing of both base members and particularly an upward flexing of thelower base member will thus be produced. When, as illustrated in Figure2, the bore of the spacer member 40 is of substantially greater diameterthan support post 32 and the nut 38 has an efiective area of engagementwith the central portion B2 of the lower base member which lies withinthe projected area of the bore of spacer member 40, then the upwardflexing of the central portion l2 produced by a tightening of the nutwill result in an outward flexing of peripheral flange Ill of the lowerbase member 4; thus increasing the tightening of engagement between suchflange and the inner surface of wall portion 22 of upper base member 6.Accordingly, not only will a more rigid and permanently rigid assemblybe secured but in addition the resilient stress exerted by the stressedlower base member against the assembly nut will tend to prevent such nutfrom loosening inadvertently.

Any convenient construction may be utilized to secure the top portion ofthe support post 32 to the main frame member of the lamp or otherarticle supported on the base. As shown in the drawings onesuchconstruction comprises providing an upstanding, reduced diameter endportion 48 on the top of support post 32 which snugly fits within thehollow tubular frame member 48 of the lamp. Preferably, the outerdiameter of the shoulder on the support member 32 is made equal to theouter diameter of the frame member 48 and a ring 50 is then pressed overthe assembled frame and support post. The joint thus produced may bemade permanently secure by soldering or brazing.

To accomodate the customary electric wires or cord 68 which, as will beunderstood, pass upwardly through the hollow frame member to the lightelement of the lamp (not shown) an aperture 52 is provided in thedownwardly depending wall portion of the upper base member 6 and asuitable flexible insulating grommet 54 is inserted therein. To providean opening for the wire 60 into the underside of the lower base member 4and hence in communication with the bore of the support post 32, anintegral vane-like finger 56 is stamped out of the upwardly bowedportion I 2 of the lower base member 4, thus providing an opening 58through which the cord 50 may pass. In addition, the underside of thevane member 56 provides a smooth arcuate surface against which the cordmay possibly abut and thus eliminates the possibility of'the cord comingin com tact with a sharp edge of the base structure which might injurethe cord either during assembly or in later use. M It is apparent thatthe cord may be readily threaded through the grommet 54, the opening 58and the bore of the support post 32 without difficulty, thus expeditingthe assembling of the entire lamp,

From the foregoing descriptionit is apparent that a lamp'baseconstruction in accordance 'ripherally spaced, integral,

with this invention may be economically produced from stamped, lightweight components and assembled into a rigid, light weight, yet durablebase construction. Furthermore, the flexing or stressing of the lowerbase member during the assembly operation insures that the rigidity ofthe assembled components will be maintained through all normal service.

It will of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A base for lamps or the like comprising an inverted cup-shaped upperbase member, a sheet metal lower base member having a peripheral flangeengageable with the inner surfaces of the walls of said upper basemember to maintain the central portions of said base members in spacedrelationship, said lower base member having an integral, upwardly bowedcentral portion and petab portions adapted to engage a supportingsurface, whereby the bottom surface of said upwardly bowed centralportion is spaced above the supporting surface, a support postprojecting downwardly through said apertures, the bottom 0 of saidsupport post lying above the plane of the bottom surfaces of said tabportions, a shoulder on said support post engageable with the topsurface of said upper base, a hollow spacer member disposed between saidupper and lower base members in surrounding relation to said supportpost, said spacer member havin a bore diameter substantially greaterthan said post, and a fastener on the bottom projecting end of saidsupport post cooperating with the bottom face of said upwardly bowedcentral portion of said lower base member to draw said base memberstogether against said spacer member, said fastener engaging said centralportion only over a region lying inside the projected area of the boreof said spacer member, thereby flexing said central portion upwardly andsaid peripheral flange outwardly.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the length of said spacermember is less than the unstressed separation of the bottom surface ofdownwardly bowed said upper base member and the top surface of saidupwardly bowed portion of said lower base member, and said fastenercomprises a nut threadably adjustable on said projecting end of v saidsupport post.

3. A base for lamps or the like comprising an inverted cup-shaped, sheetmetal, upper base member, a sheet metal lower base member having anupstanding peripheral flange engageable with the inner surface of theWalls of said upper base member to maintain the central portions of saidbase members in spaced relationship, said upper and lower base membershaving central aligned apertures therein, a support post projectingdownwardly through said apertures, a shoulder on said support postengageable with the top surface of said upper base member, an annularspacer member disposed between said upper and lower base members insurrounding relation to said support post, said spacer member havin abore diameter substantiall greater than said post, and a fastener on thebottom end of said support post cooperating with the bottom face of thecentral portion of said lower base member to draw said upper and lowerbase members together against said spacer member, said fastener engagingsaid central portion only over a region lying inside the projected arcof the bore of said spacer member, thereby flexing said central portionupwardly and said peripheral flange outwardly into tighter engagementwith the inner wall surface of said up per base member.

4. lhe combination defined in claim 3 wherein said upper base member hasan integral, upwardly bowed central portion surrounding said apertureand defining a downwardly opening cylindrical recess, and said spacercomprises a thin walled, hollow cylindrical member having one endthereof snugly seating in said recess.

WILLIAM F. MASIERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1, 927, 796 Hays Sept. 19, 19332, 337, 914 Meldrum Dec. 28, 1943

